Never Alone
by Ramzes
Summary: DH SPOILERS! Young Teddy Lupin is going to leave for Hogwarts the next day. He is happy and excited... and maybe a little sad. Victoire Weasley is leaving for Hogwarts. She is happy and excited... and a little frightened. James Potter ... look and see!
1. Teddy

**This is not an update (there will be one soon, I promise), just an edited version of the chapter, thanks to saiyanwizardgurl. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns everything and everyone, even though she made it clear that she would no longer use them.**

_If you haven't read _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_**DO NOT READ THIS!**__ You've been warned._

_**Thanks to everyone, who read, reviewed or added this story to his Favorites, Alerts and **__**C2s.**_

Chapter 1

Teddy felt that something was out of order the minute he set eyes on James: the four year-old did not throw himself at Teddy, squealing happily and ordering green hair as he usually did. No, this time James looked at him with anger and gritted teeth.

"James?" Teddy asked. "Is something the matter?"

"You're leaving!" James accused him and Teddy blinked, involuntarily changing his hair blue. Behind them, Teddy's grandmother, Andromeda, laughed softly and entered the room at the end of the corridor, where she was greeted by laughter and questions where she had left the boy for who they were throwing the party. All in all, Teddy was left alone to deal with the angry four year-old. He scratched his nose and tried to be logical.

"Listen, James, I must go to Hogwarts. You knew that before."

James nodded. "But you're _leaving!_" To Teddy's horror, the child's eyes filled with tears.

"I can't go to Hogwarts without leaving, James." Then, something clicked in his mind. "James, who told you that I was leaving?"

"Victoire," sniffed James. "She said you were leaving without me to study spells and have fun while we sit here and do nothing great."

_I knew it!__ How low girls can sink to get their revenge,_ Teddy thought with the whole contempt that an eleven year-old boy could feel for a girl of ten.

"Listen, James, it's only temporary. I will come back for Christmas, I promise."

"Christmas!" James yelled indignantly and kicked Teddy with the full force of his four year-old leg. Teddy yelped and dashed after him, but the little devil had already reached the living room from where he grinned evilly at Teddy.

"I'll get you some day," Teddy muttered and entered the living room after James. "I'll get you too," he added, looking at the delicate girl with blue eyes and almost transparent skin who stared back at him with the air of innocence.

"Hey, Teddy bear, how are you?" Holey Uncle George winked at him. "Wetting yourself with fear that you might end up in Slytherin?"

"George!" Grandma Molly scolded him but he let the reproach pass past his only ear.

"I've done no such thing!" Teddy cried indignantly.

"Which, wetting your pants or ending up in Slytherin?" George insisted.

"Both of them! Neither of them! I won't be a Slytherin!"

"Now, now, Teddy, _I _was in Slytherin," his grandmother said, a warning note in her voice.

"I want to go to Hogwarts!" James yelled and started stamping his feet on the floor. "I want to go _now_!"

_Well, no surprise __there_ When James Potter wanted something, he always wanted it now – that same day, that same second.

There was laughter filling the room and James realized they were laughing at him, so that sent him into another fit of anger.

"Come here, boy," said Uncle George, lifting him from the floor.

"It all starts again," Grandma Molly sighed, but the corners of her mouth twitched a bit. "We experienced this drama every year since Bill became old enough to go to Hogwarts, Arthur, remember?"

"How could I ever forget the deafening yells and cries?" Granddad Arthur smiled.

Aunt Hermione used the distraction of everybody's attention to come next to Teddy and ask in a low voice, "Well, have you finished it?"

"Oh, yes, Aunt Hermione!" Teddy answered enthusiastically. "It's a great book!" His hair shone in turquoise because of his excitement, but he kept his voice low: no one should ever know that he found _Hogwarts, A History_ an interesting read.

Of course, he had to know better. "You don't mean what I think you mean, do you, Teddy?" his godfather asked, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh, what will your Uncle Ron do when he hears that you like the Book-That-Should-Not-Be-Named?"

Well, that was too much. Harry Potter was the greatest godfather anyone could wish for – always taking him out for walks and ice-cream, teaching him how to fly, even helping him with his homework – but sometimes he acted like a child of young age, younger than Teddy himself. _Well, drastic situations call for drastic measures,_ Teddy thought and his hair turned into determined Weasley-red. If his Uncle Ron heard about his liking of what he had proclaimed the most boring book ever, Teddy would never hear the end of it, and if Holey Uncle George got to know about it – no, the idea was too frightening even to think about. "Uncle Harry," Teddy said in a very mild voice so Hermione could not hear him. "do you want Aunt Ginny to be informed about what happened at our little male hiking trip last week?"

Harry shifted his feet uncomfortably. "I don't know what you are talking about," he said, but his voice was unconvincing. Teddy knew that he had won.

"I am talking about letting James fly on your broomstick all on his own," he supplied helpfully. "Do you think Aunt Ginny needs to be informed?"

Harry's face had turned definitely paled. "Teddy bear!" he said in a weak voice. "Are you blackmailing me?"

Teddy's hair settled on victorious vivid blue. "Yes, I am," he confirmed. "And do not call me 'Teddy bear!'" But he knew that he had no chance to change this nickname. Everybody thought that James' idea of naming him after the stupid toy was great!

Feeling better after winning this round, he decided to come clear with his major rival for weeks, so he walked to her. "Victoire?" he asked. "Do you want to go outside?"

She huffed and turned her back to him, but Teddy would have none of this; he took her hand and guided her out of the house, in the garden of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

"Well?" Victoire inquired coldly as soon as they were outside, her blue eyes piercing and angry – angry even though she had been the one who had wronged him.

"Why did you tell him that I was going to Hogwarts without him?" he asked.

"Because it's true!"

"Yes, it is, but why did you have to tell him that I would have fun while he would be here all alone?"

"Because he will be! He will be alone, and I will be alone, and – and – " Her voice turned suddenly pleading. "Oh, Teddy, why don't you want to stay with your Grandma just a bit longer? Just for another year, until I'm old enough to go to Hogwarts too? Then we could go together, and everything will be all right. Why don't you want to wait?"

Teddy sighed. He had lost track of the occasions when they had had the same conversation over the last month. Somehow, her pleas and her obvious grief, caused by his forthcoming departure, made him feel worse than her dirty tricks of sticking his things to the floor or telling James that he was leaving. "I can't, Vickie. You know that when a wizard or a witch comes of age, he or she must go to Hogwarts that same year. I can't stay at home even if I wanted to."

"And would you?" Victoire asked and held her breath. "If you could?"

Teddy hesitated. He wanted to tell her that he would have stayed, to play with her and keep her company since all her cousins were years younger than her; truth be told, she was a good mate. For a girl, that was it.

But – Hogwarts! His godfather and his uncles had told him so many stories about centaurs, the Forbidden Forest, the three-headed dog named Fluffy, the Charms Professor who was so tiny that he had to sit on a pile of books to see over his desk, and Hogsmeade, and – "No," Teddy finally said, "I don't think I would have."

Even in the darkness, he saw that Victoire's face had flushed furiously. "Fine," she said in what he recognized as her mother's coldest voice. She turned and headed for the house angrily. "Victoire!" he cried after her.

"I really, really hate you, Teddy Lupin!" she yelled and left him alone.

_What did I say to make her this angry_, he wondered. _Sometimes, girls are really strange_. He was sure that by now, his hair had turned into a miserable green.

A soft laughter came to him and when he turned to face the newcomer, he found himself face to face with Uncle Bill, who was grinning from ear to ear. "Don't take it too hard," the man advised Teddy. "She will come around eventually, and so will James."

"Do you think so?" Teddy asked hopefully.

"I know so, kid" Uncle Bill assured him. "Trust me, I know what I am talking about – having to deal with the same thing for seven years – Fred and George were the worst – " His face darkened and Teddy knew that he was thinking of his dead brother – Holey Uncle George's twin, who had died at the same time as Teddy's parents. "Come on, let's go back inside," he said, and Teddy obeyed.

Back into the living room, James had fallen asleep in his mother's lap. The kid had a real talent for sleeping – Teddy himself could never fall asleep when there was such noise all over the room. Unfortunately, Lily and Hugo, who were barely one-year old, were still awake and now crawled to him, pushing Lily's book in front of them. Teddy sighed because he knew what was expected of him. He sat next to them and Lily immediately started turning the pages in her book of fairytales, pointing with her chubby little finger at one animal or another and Teddy obediently changed his face like any of them, making the children giggle. Of course, Al could not let his sister receive something that he had not received himself, so he positioned himself next to them and ordered, "Teddy bear!" Teddy complied and changed his facial features to resemble Al's stuffed toy.

After a while, he decided to check whether Victoire was still angry with him or not. She was still angry. Smiling hesitantly, he told her that they would be in the same House next year, and all he received for his attention was a scowl and a hissed reply, "I do not want to be in the same house as you, Teddy Lupin!" _So much for coming around_

They left the party sooner than Teddy wanted, but his grandmother had insisted that Teddy needed a good sleep before tomorrow's ride. He checked his luggage and stopped to look at the picture that was standing on his nightstand: his mother, her hair bright pink, a wide grin spread across her face, his father, smiling contentedly, and Teddy himself – a little bundle, whose only distinguishing feature was his bright turquoise hair. The boy sighed, turned the lights off, and crawled in bed, determined to think of the great party that had been arranged for him rather than how he would go to King's Cross tomorrow: everyone would be with their parents, and he would have only his grandmother seeing him off.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**A. N. So, what do you think? ****Do you think I caught the situation right?**


	2. Victoire

_Disclaimer: You're here, reading fanfiction; I'm here, writing fanfiction, so it's clear that I'm not J. K. Rowling and own nothing but the plot._

**Sorry to tell you that my mail still has its own opinion about sending letters. In fact, it doesn't send them properly and that's the reason I cannot give you an edited chapter – I can't contact my beta. Well, it's not the time to complain – at least I can still receive the emails that the others send me!**

_**Thanks to everyone who had read and reviewed the first chapter. Now, if someone can tell me how to put titles on my chapter, I'll be immensely grateful.**__** Oh, and thanks to the people who added this story to their favorites, alerts and c2s.**_

Chapter 2

**A year later…**

"Bye, Mum. Bye, Dad. Bye everyone!" Victoire yelled, when the Hogwarts Express started moving.

"Vickie is crying! She's crying, crying!" James yelled disgustedly and Victoire clenched her fist and pointed it at her cousin who laughed and then started waving at her. The red train headed for the far end of King's Cross and the people who had come to see their kids off, started waving and saying their final goodbyes. Victoire smiled at the whole Weasley family that had come to wish her good luck, and waved at them. Her mother and father, as well as her grandparents, returned her smile, trying to give her courage, Uncle George grinned and patted his pocket, obviously referring to the great assortment of his stuff that lay hidden in her nice blue trunk – he wanted to remind her to make full use of it. Uncle Ron winked at her, James' chin trembled a little and little Lily, who suddenly seemed to realize that both Victoire and Teddy next to her were leaving, started wailing while Margot, Victoire's six-year old sister, started running after the train and when her mother caught her, she burst into tears.

Teddy shook his head. "They are unbelievable," he said and making sure that both girls were looking at him, he made his nose elongate into a grey elephant's trunk and his ears big and flopping. Margot and Lily started laughing, and the express gained speed and soon everyone was far behind them.

"How do you feel, Vickie?" Teddy asked.

"I'm fine," she shrugged and then looked up at him – when had he grown so much? "Would you think that I'm stupid if I tell you something?" she asked.

"No, of course not," he assured her.

"I miss them already… Just a little," she added hastily, and Teddy was reminded of that same day a year ago, when he had woke up so excited and frightened to go to Hogwarts at the same time, and a little sad, because his parents would not be there to see him off, and he would have to go to the station with his grandmother only. He had eaten his breakfast, Gran had Levitated his trunk in her car and he had passed through the wall between the platforms 9 and 10 for a very first time –

– and they've been there, each one of them. Harry and Aunt Ginny with baby Lily in Harry's arms, James and Albus bubbling with excitement because of their first passing through the barrier, Granddad Arthur with his dusty clothes, obviously coming straight from work, Grandma Molly, who was smiling brightly and mopping at her eyes, muttering about how her dear boy had all grown up, Uncle George in violet robes, awfully mismatching with his bright red hair, holding a well-disguised bag with his products in one hand and his son Fred with the other, trying to stop the boy from climbing into the express, Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, who said that next year, he would have a driving license and then he would be the one who would drive Teddy to King's Cross, Uncle Percy and pretty much everyone except for Uncle Charlie, who had had to leave suddenly for Romania, and Aunt Elly, who could not come through the barrier because she was a Muggle. Fred had seemed intended to use his mother's absence for achieving great goals, because he was constantly trying to break out of his father's hold and Uncle George was forced to threaten him with two weeks grounding. Victoire had been there too, along with her parents and siblings, and though still angry, she'd tried to smile at him and not let her sorrow show, when everybody had started to wish Teddy a good time at Hogwarts, and James had begun running after the train –

"It's fine, Vicky," Ted said. "I miss them, too."

She smiled at him, reassured. "Care to find a compartment in here?"

"Ah – yes, of course," he answered, and Victoire's smile frozen a bit. He did not want to sit with her! _Why should he_, she thought miserably, _he's found new friends now, at Hogwarts, he's become so tall and smart. Why should he bother with a small stupid first-year_?

"Come on, Vicky," he said impatiently, "let's find a nice compartment, before the others take each fine seats."

She shook her head. "No, it's better if we separate here. Go and find your friends, and I'll try and look for other first-years."

Teddy frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked, and waved at a tall boy with sandy-blond hair. "Yes, I'm coming, Jake!" he yelled.

"Yes, I am," Victoire said. "I should try and make some friendships here. Dad always says that Hogwarts Express is the best place to get to know your peers."

"Yes, he does," Teddy agreed. "Well, if you think it's better – "There was visible relief in his voice. "See you in the Great Hall!" he said and headed towards that ugly boy, Jake or something.

For a moment, Victoire did not move. Despite her earlier words, she held no desire to try and make friendships. She had grown up with the knowledge that she was not like the others. She had heard the whispers, "She's such a nice girl, yes, but yet, blood is blood, and she's part Veela, you know – " She sometimes felt awkwardness even in her own friends – they weren't fine with the idea that she was different, and they kept asking her weird questions, as whether it was true that Veelas sucked the blood of men who were in love with them, and feed on it to sustain their beauty. Victoire held little hope that the girls in Hogwarts would be much different. It had been always Teddy who understood her best, because he himself had sometimes felt the rejection of the others because the fact that his father had been a werewolf. It had always been Teddy and Vickie against the world and now, he had found new friends and forgotten about her. _It hurts to be alone._.

However, there was no point in staying in the corridor and lamenting her loss. Victoire threw her long silver hair across her shoulder and with a determined face bent to take her trunk from the floor. _I'm a Weasley_, she thought, and _Weasleys never give up_. She started walking down the corridor, looking in every compartment, but they were all full. Finally, almost at the end of the train, she found one that was almost empty. "Mind if I sit here?" she asked, opening the door.

The girl who was inside the compartment, smiled in welcome. "I'll be glad to have company," she said, and Victoire fully entered in. "Especially someone my age. Since my eleventh birthday, I've been feeling very awkward around the other kids. My friends kept pestering me with questions where my boarding school was and when I couldn't give them a good reply, they were angry with me."

"So, you're a Muggleborn then?" Victoire asked, sitting down.

"You know, my parents thought it was a joke when my letter came. They didn't believe that it was real until Professor Longbottom make an appearance and made my old stuffed lion roar and jump."

Victoire laughed.

"And what about you? Are you a Muggleborn?" the other girl asked, closing the magazine that she had been reading.

Victoire shook her head. "No, everyone in my family had been a wizard and a witch, for ages. I am Victoire Weasley, by the way."

The girl laughed. "Right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Naomi White," she said, offering her hand for a handshake.

Victoire shook her head, disbelief in her eyes. "You must be joking."

Naomi laughed and her dark face lit up. "Really! My parents think it's funny to have a name, so obviously mismatching with our skin color. And I was named Naomi after Naomi Campbell."

Victoire blinked. "Who?"

"You mean you've never heard of Naomi Campbell?" Naomi seemed astounded. "Well, it is obvious that witches don't know everything – Come here," she said, reaching for her magazine, "you need a little education."

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**Several hours later…**

"Weasley, Victoire!"

Slightly trembling, Vickie went to the incredibly frayed, dirty hat that was going to seal her fate for the next seven years, and placed it on her head. _It could have been worse_, she thought, _it could have been a troll or something like that._

"A troll?" a voice suddenly asked in her head, and she almost jumped. "During all my years here, I've been called names that I wouldn't repeat in front of a lady, but this is simply too much. Really, a _troll_?"

By now, Victoire had realized that the speaker was none other than the Sorting Hat itself. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "it's just that my uncle George – "

"No need to explain anymore," the Hat interrupted her, and Victoire had the sudden feeling that it was smiling. "George Weasley, you say? My, my, this boy never changed, huh? Oh, I remember them perfectly fine, the twins. And the other red-heads, the Weasleys – but wait, wait, you aren't a red-head, eh? No, you're not like the rest of them – "

"I am!" Victoire thought furiously. "I am like them. I am brave like them and I belong in Gryffindor, so say it and let's finish with it!" No one should ever know about her fear that she might turn out to be as different from her family by nature as she was by her looks. After all, her mother, although well-liked in the family, was not like them.

This time, the Hat definitely chuckled. "Not so fast, child. Yes, you are more like them than you think – but you are also different. There is something very _unique_ about you – I've never seen a – damn it, I thought Veelas were just a myth!"

That was not the Hat itself, it was just the personality of its former owner, Godric Gryffindor, leaking through. Victoire did not know that, though, and she felt very affronted. "I assure you that my mother is not a myth," she thought angrily.

The Hat chuckled again. "I see. But she's never stood on this stool, has she?"

"No," Victoire answered reluctantly, "Mum never attended Hogwarts. She attended Beauxbatons instead."

"Ah, I understand now. So, where to put you, where to put you? Let me see – Ravenclaw? Yes, you might do fine there, but let's see the other houses – I can't afford a mistake. Hufflepuff – no, definitely not Hufflepuff material – "

"Why not?" Victoire asked. "I can work hard!"

"Yes, on the tricks that your uncle George has taught you. I'm afraid that it doesn't count here, my dear. Now, Slytherin – cunning, intelligent, just fine – "

"It's not fine!" Victoire thought, horrified. "I don't want to be in Slytherin."

"This isn't about what you want!" The Sorting Hat's voice suddenly became harsh. "It's about who you are and where you'll fit the best. And that, Victoire, is my decision to make, not your wish to fulfil."

"So, you're going to put me in Slytherin?" Victoire asked sadly.

"I'm still thinking over that. And what if I do put you there?"

It took all of Victoire's self-control to keep herself from shouting with terror, but Fleur's lessons in good manners were finally repaid. "I'll survive," Victoire thought determinedly. "I'll do my best to succeed there."

"And how would you feel as the first Weasley ever who's been Sorted in Slytherin?"

"I'll live through it," Victoire thought, even though her mind refused to accept this terrifying chance.

The Hat chuckled again. "I see. Well, I've seen all that's worth to be seen in your head, so – "

"That was it?" Victoire asked with resignation. "It is Slytherin, then?"

"Yes, that was it. Good luck, Victoire Weasley of GRYFFINDOR!"

The Hat shouted the last word loud, and Victoire stood up, almost trembling with relief, and it was not until the students on Gryffindor table started cheering for her like they had done for their other housemates, when she realized that she had made it – she was here, at Hogwarts, and she was a Gryffindor, and Teddy pulled her on the seat next to his own and said that he had been saving it for her, and his friend Jake was not so ugly now, when he smiled at her and offered his congratulations, and moments later Naomi joined them at the table, and there was only one thought in Victoire's head. _Never alone, never again_.

**A. N. What do you think, should I write a third chapter? Did you like this one?**

7


	3. James

**Disclaimer: Look at the previous chapter.**

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapters._

Chapter 3

**Several years later…**

"Mum, can't I - ?"

Ginny sighed, not even looking at her daughter and not waiting for her to finish the phrase – there was no need of that. "No, Lily, you can't go. You're too young."

"But I wanna!"

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait."

"I want to go to Hogwarts! Why is it that James can go and I can't?"

"Because James is eleven and you aren't, Lily," Harry said. Lily pouted and turned her back to her parents, accidentally hitting Jinxie's cage. The owl started hooting indignantly and attracted the attention of the Muggle commuters, who started looking at the family. Harry reached out just in time to catch a hold of his daughter, before she could disappear into the crowd.

"Why should they be so difficult?" Ginny said exasperatedly.

"It's their job, dear," Molly smiled patiently.

"How did you manage to send us all to Hogwarts without going mad?"

Molly shrugged. "It isn't this bad, Ginny."

The owl was hooting, Lily was wailing, Albus could hardly hide his envy because of his brother's leaving, and James looked like he wanted to run away from all of them; it _was_ that bad. Fortunately, they had almost reached the barrier. James was the first one to run against it and Harry barely had time to stand up behind him to conceal his disappearance into the wall from the eyes of the Muggles. Lily winced, looking a little afraid, but her father led her through the barrier safely.

"Finally!" Ginny sighed with relief, when they were all on the platform 9 ¾. "I thought we would never make it."

"Finally!" George exclaimed, appearing from the mist that was surrounding the station. "We were thinking that James would miss the train."

"Where is he?" Ginny asked and looked around.

"He's okay, Gin. He's with Fred."

That statement did little to calm Ginny's nerves and judging by her mother's look, Molly felt the same.

"What?" George asked. "They are safe."

Molly sighed. "It's not them we're worried about, it's the platform!"

George shuddered, but it could pass as a shudder from cold. Harry gave him a sidelong look: he would be surprised if his brother in-law had not given the two first-years a good supply of his products – without Elly knowing, of course. If there was someone who could raze the gifted wizard George Weasley to the ground, it was the muggle Elly Weasley.

"Mum! Dad!"

James had appeared again, accompanied by his cousin. Since they were the same age and had the same Weasley hair, they could pass for brothers. Right now, they looked flushed and very pleased with themselves, which immediately raised the suspicion of their grandmother, let alone Ginny.

"Where have you been?" Molly asked sternly, and they grinned innocently.

"We were just looking around, Grandma."

"Need help with those?" Victoire asked, emerging from the mist and tightening her shawl tighter – it was really cold.

Both boys shook their heads and spread protective arms over their trunks – they might not be able to entrain their luggage, but they did not need help from a _girl_, a _Prefect_, or their _cousin_, and Vickie was all those things.

"Fine," she said, and smiled at the others. "See you at Christmas, Uncle George, Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny!" The last name came out somewhat muffled because her grandmother had pulled her into a fierce hug. "Oi! Grandma! You're smothering me!"

"Have a nice term, Vickie," Molly said.

"Bye, Grandma!"

Victoire took a deep breath, making sure that all her ribs were intact, and went on her Prefect duties.

"Need help with those?" came a familiar voice, and in front of them stood someone who could only be Teddy.

But how did he look like! He had sprouted fur all over his face, and probably all over his body, because his coat looked too close-fitting. It was probably a good way to keep himself warm, because, while the others were winding their coats and shawls tightly, Teddy had unbuttoned his coat and wore no hat, his golden Head Boy badge in a striking contrast with his blue fur.

Lily forgot that she was angry with her parents and goggled; Harry and George burst out laughing; Ginny and Molly tried to be firm in their disapproval, but they hardly could fight the smiles that kept creeping on their faces despite their best efforts.

"Yes, Teddy! Yes!" James and Fred yelled at the same time, and Ron, who had joined the others, groaned.

"Can't these kids talk normally?" he wanted to know.

"You've been shouting this way until you turned fifteen," his mother reminded him.

Ginny paid no attention to him. "Why didn't you want to accept Victoire's help, but it's okay with Teddy's?" she asked her son and her nephew.

"She's a _girl_," James answered and both boys rolled their eyes at her ignorance, while Teddy was heaving their trunks onto the train. "You wouldn't understand."

In no time, the whole Weasley family, plus Teddy's grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, gathered onto the platform. There was laughter at Teddy's fur, nostalgic remembrances about their own years at Hogwarts, and a big deal of sulking from the younger children, who were not old enough to leave. Lily even clung to James and he had to push her aside quite roughly. She cocked her nose and refused to talk to him anymore, much to her brother's relief; unfortunately, when the train started moving, she began running after it with tears pouring over her cheeks. James waved at her but that only seemed to make her cry harder. Feeling quite helpless, he looked around for Fred, who seemed just as confused as him, and Teddy, who made the fur on his face disappear and replaced his face with a clown's one – red cheeks and everything. It was one of their traditions, and Lily knew what was expected of her and laughed, although she was still crying. The younger kids burst out laughing.

"I'll never know why the whole family should come here every year," Fred said.

"They come only when we have a new Hogwartian, Fred," Teddy reminded him, and the red-head rolled his eyes.

"That's what I said, every year!"

"I have to go," Teddy said. "Duties, you know. You'll find a nice compartment, right?"

"Of course we will!" James sounded offended. "What do you take us for? Don't you know us?"

"I do know you – too well. Don't try ant funny business while you're on the train, otherwise I'll have to take measures."

After this clear warning, Teddy left the younger boys alone.

"You're no fun!" James cried after him.

"Do you think there's a chance that he will give us out Dungbombs back?" Fred asked hopefully, referring to the magical objects that Teddy had caught them throwing in the corridor, when the three of them had been entraining the first-years' trunks.

James shook his head, disgusted. "No," he answered darkly, "I think we should consider ourselves lucky, because he didn't give them to my mum or – or Grandma."

Both boys fell silent, considering this horrible prospect. Finally, James sighed, "And this coming from the boy who had caused school owls flying to his Grandma's house every other day. One of them found her at our place and was clearly _familiar_ with her – Mrs Tonks said that she'd seen it at least four times."

"Maybe he is ill," Fred supposed hopefully, "and when he gets better, he'll be our good ol' Teddy again."

"Forget about good ol' Teddy," James advised his cousin grimly. "He isn't ill, he's a Head Boy. As it comes, I won't be surprised if Vickie makes a Head Girl next year."

Fred looked at him, appalled. "Come on," James sighed, "let's find a compartment. I want to show you the cloak that I borrowed from Dad."

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**A few hours later…**

"Abercrombie, Peter!"

"Gryffindor!"

"I'll kill Teddy" James whispered furiously, "what was that about fighting a dragon? It's just a stupid old hat!"

"At least your dad didn't try to freak you out with stories about trolls and giants," Fred said, looking relieved at the discovery that there would be no fight to seal his fate – his House. "Mine's been doing it the whole summer and since Mum never went to Hogwarts, she could hardly tell me whether he was joking or not."

James nodded. Holey Uncle George had tried to scare him with those stories too, and had had a great success' he could hardly imagine what it must have been for Fred – he _lived_ with Uncle George, for Merlin's sake. "That does not change things," he said grumpily. "Teddy dies."

"Who is Teddy?" asked Jack Warner, another first-year, who they had met on the train.

Fred pointed at the Gryffindor table. "See him? The boy with the green hair. This is Teddy Lupin. He's a Head Boy," he added.

Jack nodded and his eyes widened, when Teddy's hair settled on bright blue. "How does he do that?" he asked and since James was too angry with Teddy to answer, it was Fred who did it.

"He's a Metamorphmagus," he said. "He changes at will."

Jack, who was a Muggleborn, gaped at him. "You're joking!"

Fred chuckled. "No. He can change into anyone. Once, he did it with my father. He must have been twelve or something. He morphed into Dad and started selling the products at the joke shop. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of keeping both his ears intact which gave the game away immediately – you see, Dad had only one ear, he lost the other in the war."

Jack was fascinated with all he heard, but their other new friend, Adam Spencer, looked quite nervous. "But wasn't his dad a – you know, a werewolf?"

Fred blinked. "What – ah, you're talking about Teddy. Yes, his dad was a werewolf. A war hero, you know – he was killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, along with Teddy's mother."

Spencer could not move his eyes away from Teddy, who did not see his glance. "Isn't it – dangerous?"

Fred frowned, trying to understand. "What should be dangerous?"

Adam looked very uncomfortable. "For him – to be allowed to attend Hogwarts. I mean – isn't he dangerous?"

Fred laughed. "Oh yes, he is, especially when he is in his Head Boy mood."

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I mean – isn't he a – a?"

Fred stopped laughing, having finally started to realize that the other boy was serious – serious and scared. Before he could give an answer, another voice did it instead of him.

"He. Is. Not. A. Werewolf," James said through clenched teeth.

"But – are you sure? I mean – "

"I know what you mean," James snapped quietly. "And he is not, I can assure you."

The pureblood boy looked miserable and confused. "I only – well, everybody knows what his father was. I thought – "

"Teddy's father," James hissed, still trying to talk as quietly as possible, "was a great man. A _hero_. He was one of those who won us the war, Spencer. What were _your_ parents doing back then? Hiding under their bed and trembling at the thought of Voldemort, huh?"

Adam looked angry. "Don't start with my parents, Potter!"

"Then watch your big mouth!"

"Why? Because of _him_?" Adam threw a look at Teddy and his irritation with James made him add, "He's just a – "

The rest of the phrase was lost, because James' fist collided with Adam's jaw. "Don't you dare to talk about Teddy or his father like that ever again," James hissed in a deadly voice, "or you are going to pay for this with more than just your jaw."

"MR POTTER!" someone yelled and one of the teachers hurried to them. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, Professor," he answered and smiled charmingly. Unfortunately, his charm did not seem to work on her.

"Picking up a fight even before being Sorted, this is a first – " the woman said, shaking her head. "Are you okay, Mr – " she asked and healed Adam's nose with a wave of her wand.

"Spencer. Yes, Professor, I'm fine."

"What happened?" she asked, and he shrugged without answering. "Mr Potter?" James gave her a blank look that did not fool her. "Twenty points from your House, whatever it is. Why did you attack a fellow student?"

"Because he is a jerk," James said curtly.

"What made you think so?"

James said nothing.

"Mr Potter, if you do not give me an answer, I will take twenty points more from your House for disrespecting a teacher."

James still refused to say anything. The woman sighed exasperatedly and walked away. James stood, waiting for his turn to be Sorted, not knowing that he'd just broken a tradition, as old as Hogwarts itself – the tradition of quiet and frightened first years who did their best to remain unnoticed before their Sorting.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**A. N. So? What do you think ****this far?**

10


	4. Fred

_Disclaimer: Everything that can you can recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling, which means that everything belongs to her._

**Thank you, all my great readers and reviewers, for your interest in this story.**

**Now, I must tell you that I made some changes in this fic. This was supposed to be the fifth part of the series – Lily's chapter – but it happened so that I had the idea of another character's arrival at Hogwarts. So, this is Fred's chapter and since in my fic he is in James' year, I send Al's chapter as the fifth one. Hope you aren't confused!**

Chapter 4

_A few days later__…_

His father, his grandfather and all his uncles – and Teddy – had been right right: Fred Weasley loved, loved, LOVED being at Hogwarts! He loved everything about it – getting lost in the corridors, talking to the portrait of the Mad Knight, trying to outsmart Peeves, pulling pranks on his unsuspecting classmates and not so unsuspecting teachers. Well, the fact that the teachers seemed to expect only the worst of him was one of the things that he DID NOT love. It was like all of them, from Sinistra to Flitwick, were constantly looking look for dungbombs in the classroom or to see someone's ears being replaced by rabbit's ones, ready to shout 'Mr Weasley and Mr Potter!' at any minute. Not that Fred minded being considered a troublemaker, because he was born one, but he was disappointed that everybody seemed to think that he was so predictable. Just because his father had been a prankster, that did not mean that Fred was his copy! He could leave his own track in the records of Hogwarts Most Dangerous students, thank you very much!

One of the things that he was not quite he liked was the brief pause almost everybody tended to make before saying James' name – it was like they were going to say someone else's name and checked themselves in the last moment. Which, in fact, they did.

Fred had grown up hearing stories about the other Fred, but his uncle had never seemed like he'd been real – not until now.

"Hi, kid, what are you doing?"

Fred looked around. Teddy was standing next to him in front of the great memorial of those who had died during the Battle of Hogwarts.

The boy tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to his mind. Truth be told, he had no idea what kept dragging him to this memorial. He felt silly.

Teddy looked at the plaque. He seemed to understand. "Sometimes I come here," he said and smiled. "To my mother, my father… and Fred. I come here when I need to be alone to think about something, usually in the evening. It is so calm then. Peaceful. I love to think that they died to make Hogwarts a place like this. A peaceful one."

Fred looked curiously at Teddy's hair. He'd seen him wearing it in all sorts of bizarre colors, green and turquoise being Teddy's preferred hairstyle, but he'd never seen it pink. Pink was a girlish colour, or so Teddy had always proclaimed. "Why is it pink?"

"I usually make it pink when I come here," Teddy answered without hesitation. "People say that my mum always wore her hair pink. That makes me feel – closer to her, I suppose."

_Closer to her_. All of a sudden, Fred understood why he had come here – he had wanted to feel closer to the uncle that he had named after, to understand him better maybe.

"Everybody keeps behaving like I am not me," he heard himself saying. If he told this to James, his cousin would mock him for being a complaining baby, but somehow, it felt right with Teddy. "The teachers, I mean. They – they look at me, talk to me like everything is okay, but they keep looking over my shoulder as if they expect to see something else."

Teddy nodded. "It was something like that with me in m first year, too, especially when I changed my appearance and when I morphed back into myself. That's because I look like my father and I've inherited my mother's rare gift. You, on the other hand, are named after your uncle and you look a lot like him. It's inevitable."

Fred thought about this for a moment. "I wish I knew him," he said longingly.

"I know you do."

Fred looked at him with curiosity. "Do you miss your parents?"

"Oh yes," the young Metamorphmagus answered without hesitation. "You see their names? They are right there." He raised his hand to show Fred. "I don't remember them. I don't remember how I lost them. But I miss them and sometimes there are moments when I wish more than anything to meet them. Grandma kept some of their belongings – my mother's clothes, some of their favorite things, my father's books, their photos and I love looking through them. The fact that I was too young then does not change the loss."

Fred frowned. "But I thought you were happy," he said and there was a sight note of accusation in his voice. The idea of Teddy being miserable seemed just wrong.

Teddy laughed and ruffled Fred's hair. "Merlin, I forgot how young you are. I am very happy, kid. The fact that you've lost someone does not necessarily make you miserable for the rest of your life. Ask your father to tell you about this. I am very, _very_ happy. And I'm not alone. No one is never alone in this family. It's always full of uncles, aunts, and little buggers like you – "

"I am not little!" Fred objected fiercely.

"Oh, but you are. You're practically a baby," Teddy grinned, and the younger boy gritted his teeth.

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are. Never mind that, come with me."

"Where?"

"I want to show you something."

Fred looked at him suspiciously, but his curiosity stopped him from further arguing about his age. He followed Teddy to the fifth floor, where they stopped in front of a little swamp, separated from the rest of the corridor by a wide tape. Fred looked at Teddy, astounded. "What's that?"

Teddy grinned. "When your dad and your Uncle Fred were in their last year, the Ministry sent a new Headmistress here, a witch by the name of Dolores Umbridge. From what I've heard, she was a real nightmare, a walking disaster. She terrorized the students, tried to tell the teachers what to do and generally, made everyone's lives pure hell on earth. No one liked her and your dad and Fred decided that they didn't want to finish their education, if that meant that they had to put up with her till the end of the year. So, they made the swamp – it was bigger than this one, it took the whole corridor – and when she tried to punish them, they Summoned their brooms and flew through the front door in front of the whole school, saying that they had started a jokeshop and inviting everyone to buy their products."

Fred was laughing so hard that he could hardly breathe. "And what happened to the swamp?" he asked. "Why is it still here?"

Teddy grinned in response. "Well, Umbridge was unable to get rid of him and those who could chose not to. When Umbridge left, Professor Flitwick dried it up but left this part because it was a good magic – and as a memorial to Fred and George, if you ask me."

He pointed at something that Fred had not noticed. He'd been staring at the swamp, but now he looked at the wall behind it and there they were, in their big picture, waving at him – two red-haired boys at fifteen or so, with a mischief air around them, hugging, grinning boys, _unimaginably alike_.

Fred swallowed hard and tried to tell which one was his father, but he could not – they were both red-haired, with two ears, with the same sly grin. While he was watching them, they looked aside, mouthed something to someone outside the picture and then looked at each other with such ease, like they were reading each other's thoughts. Fred frowned – for a first time he started realizing what the two of them must have meant to each other and how his father must have felt after losing his twin. How he must feel now. Was Teddy right about the feeling of loss? Was his father still suffering? This possibility had never occurred to him. In fact, it disturbed him very much.

Teddy was looking at him with calm, understanding eyes. "I suppose you could use the fireplace in the common room after the others are asleep," he said. "That is what I did when I wanted to talk to Harry in my first year."

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**A few hours later...**

"Hey, kid, what are you doing?" his father asked, grinning. "You want to have me prepared for the Hogwarts owl that should come tomorrow?"

Fred grinned too. "No, not today. What are you doing?" He saw that George was in the kitchen, placing something that looked like a chocolate cake with some disgusting orange frosting on the table.

"Your mother wants a dessert."

"A dessert? _Now_?" It was well past midnight.

"You should have been in bed, snoring," George pointed and Fred gave up the discussion about the disgusting cake.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said.

"I'm listening."

"About Uncle Fred," Fred elaborated.

"What about him?"

"I am not sure. What was he like?"

George smiled. "Like you. And me. A prankster, who was ready to pick to anyone, but his heart was in the right place." The smile disappeared. "Why are you asking me about him now? You've never been interested before."

"That was before."

"Ah." George nodded. "I understand. Hogwarts made you curious, didn't it?"

"Something like that, yes."

"Well, wait until Christmas and then I promise we'll talk about him. I don't think we should have this conversation through the Floo."

Fred grinned. "I can't wait."

George returned the grin. "Same here."

The boy suddenly became serious. "It must have been awful that between all of them, it was he who had to die."

George looked at him sharply. "What do you mean – between all of them?"

Fred looked confused. He did not answer, but there was no need – in less than a minute, his father figured it out and his face softened. "I wouldn't have traded any of them for Fred."

"Really?" Fred was surprised. "But I thought – not even Uncle Percy?"

George laughed. "No, not even your Uncle Percy. Fred was something very special for me, but at the end, they are all my brothers and I could never want one of them dead, so the other one could live."

Fred looked thoughtful. "I wish I had a brother," he said wistfully.

George grinned again. "Don't let your Aunt Ginny hear you," he said, "or you'll have to listen to a lecture about the tendency of the men in our family to underestimate women in favor of men."

"I'll watch it," Fred promised. "Bye, Dad."

"Bye."

Fred's head disappeared and George stood for a while, looking blindly at the flames in the fireplace. Then, he stood up and took the cake upstairs.

"God, how long does it take to bring a piece of cake from the kitchen?" Elly looked at him, smiling. "What took you for so long?"

He shrugged. "Fred Firecalled from Hogwarts. Stay calm, he's fine and he isn't in trouble," he said hurriedly, noticing her sudden paling. "He just wanted to talk to me."

"About what?" Elly asked, sat upright in bed and started eating the cake. "Do you want some?"

George shook his head. "Chocolate cake with orange frosting, I don't think so."

"Good, that means that there will be more left for me," she stated, and George chuckled.

"If we have a child who loves this stuff, I'll go and throw myself under a bridge," he said. "I think I prefer your passion for ice-cream from the first time."

Elly was busy eating, so she did not give him a proper answer. After the morning sickness from the first two months, George was glad that she was eating something, even if it was chocolate cake with orange frosting.

"Eric," he suddenly said, and she looked at him, surprised. "I want to name him Eric. Fred was named after my brother and I think it is right for our second baby to be named after yours."

Elly looked at him with gratitude. "Well, then Eric it is," she agreed.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

**What do you think? Be good and tell me!**

8


	5. Albus

**Disclaimer: I own nothing and I never will.**

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the previous chapters. Here I am again, after all this time.

This chapter was previously posted as Number 4, but since I added a Fred chapter and Fred is older than Albus, it fell behind and it is now Number 5. The new chapter is Number 4

Chapter 5

**A year later...**

Dinner at Potters' place was never a quiet event and the silence that was hanging over the table struck Teddy as something strange: Lily was sulking at the prospect of being left alone tomorrow, when both her brothers would leave for Hogwarts, and the ever so noisy James was sulking even worse than his sister, only Merlin knew why. Meanwhile, Albus was looking at his place with the expression of a man who had only a few days life ahead of him. Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny were trying to keep the conversation on, but with all three of their children suddenly gone mute, their efforts were lost in vain. Teddy felt relieved, after the dinner was over.

"I'll try and talk to them," he whispered to Uncle Harry, and his godfather nodded with a faint smile. "Good. Do it, because it's become really unbearable now. It's not natural for this house to be _this_ quiet."

Teddy grinned. "My thoughts, exactly."

He went to find James first. The boy was, predictably enough, sitting in the garden and looking at the gnomes who were running in the flower-beds. Teddy sat on the bench next to him. "Hey, what's wrong?"

James jumped almost two feet up in the air – obviously, he had not heard Teddy's approach. The young Metamorphmagus pretended not to notice. "So, what's bothering you?"

James shrugged. "Nothing."

"Hey, James, it's me. Teddy. You can always lie to me, but you don't really expect that I believe you, do you?"

James suddenly laughed. "No, I don't," he confirmed.

"Then?"

James refused to answer.

"Then what is it?" Teddy insisted. "Come on, kid, spill it out. Tomorrow, you're leaving and we won't be able to talk whenever we wanted. Normally, you don't sulk like Lily."

The twelve years-old gritted his teeth at him. "I am not Lily!"

"Well, you certainly behave like her right now," Teddy insisted. "Come on, tell me what's wrong."

James took one of his shoes off and looked at a gnome, who entered it happily, while the boy was stretching his now free toes.

Teddy, too, untied his shoes and took them off. Then, he placed his toes against James' bare foot and wriggled them. It was a play that they used to play long ago, when James was little. After a while, James started wriggling his toes too, trying to make Teddy ticklish.

"It'll be strange," he finally said. "You aren't coming to Hogwarts this year. I had just become accustomed to see you around all the time, and now, you're leaving."

Teddy smiled in the falling darkness. "Is this the only reason of your sulking?" he asked. "Just because I graduated?"

"I don't sulk!" James said grudgingly. "Besides, that leaves me with Vickie. Teddy, she's a Head Girl and a Captain of the Quidditch team. Now, she'll try to order me all around. It'll be a pure hell on earth!"

Teddy grinned. _So, that was it. He doesn't want to be commanded by Victoire_. "You seem very sure that you'll be the Gryffindor Seeker," he said, and his almost brother gave him a reproachful look.

"You know I will be! I am the best, and you would have taken me, if you were still Captain,' he boasted. "Vickie will take me too. She'll be mad if she doesn't!"

Teddy laughed quietly. James' full confidence in his own abilities would never stop to amaze him. This time, however, he had to admit that the boy had a good reason to be self-confident – Teddy had seen him on a broom enough often to know that.

"James?"

"Yes?"

"Nasty little scoundrel you are, but I think that sometimes I will really miss you."

James grinned, looking pleased. "Why did they have to make Vickie, of all people, a Captain of the team?" he asked and there was a slight whining in his voice. "I mean, really! She was not even interested in Quidditch until last year!"

Teddy pretended that he had not heard. Of course, he knew the reason that stood behind Victoire's sudden attraction to Quidditch, but he would not tell James that. He and Vickie were still a secret, after all.

"Teddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Sometimes, I'll miss you too."

Al was the next one. Teddy found him in his room, sitting on the cornice of the window and looking in the dark. Teddy sat next to him, without saying anything, and stared in front of him.

After a while, Al spoke without turning to look at him, "Teddy, what if I end up in Slytherin?"

Teddy shrugged. "What's wrong with that?" he asked. "You'll still be our Al."

"But – Slytherin!" The boy looked so insulted that Teddy almost laughed out loud. Then, he suddenly remembered his own fear of being Sorted in Slytherin, and felt more sympathetic. "There's nothing wrong with Slytherin now, you know. My Gran was a Slytherin and she turned out just fine. Besides, who told you that you would be placed in Slytherin?"

"James."

"And do you always believe what your brother tells you?"

"No, I don't."

Teddy laughed. "Good for you. Then, don't believe him this time. You won't be a Slytherin. Is that why you're sulking?"

Al was still not looking at him. "Everyone will expect of me to be as good as Dad was," he said. "And I am not."

_So, that's it._ "You shouldn't try and compare yourself to your father, Al. You're your own person. You're Al – not Harry."

"But do they know that?"

"Eventually, they will realize it. Just don't pay any attention to them. Leave them alone and finally they're going to leave you alone."

"I don't want to be alone," Al confessed in a low voice, and Teddy frowned, seep in thought. He knew how much Al hated people's expectation of him to live up to his father. He was the one who most resembled Harry in looks and in a way, in manners. And that could cause some problems, until people realized that he was his own person.

"You won't be alone. Teachers are great. You already know Professor Longbottom and I know you're going to love Hagrid. You'll like Professor Flitwick in wrath – three feet shaking fury and squeals."

Al smiled at the image. Pleased with that, Teddy went further on the right path that he had chosen. "And Rose will be there, with you." Al brightened even more. "And James and Fred."

Al's face darkened again. "James," he muttered. "He's going to drive me mad!"

Teddy laughed. "Yes, probably," he agreed. "But he's not that bad, really."

Al looked skeptical. "He isn't," Teddy insisted. "I mean, I know he can be a real pain in the ass, but his heart lies in the right place. Last year, Adam Spencer seemed to have something against me because of my dad."

Al's eyes widened. His brother's best friend looked friendly enough. Had he really had something against Teddy?

The Metamorphmagus nodded. "It's true. James hit him in the Entrance Hall, just before the Sorting."

Al burst out laughing. "He did?"

"Yeah, he did, despite the face that he himself was angry with me. He'll always be ready to fight for you even when he drives you mad. It's just how he is."

Al smiled broadly. Teddy stood up. It was time for him to go. He would check on Lily now and then go to meet Vickie. "Al?"

"Yes, Teddy?"

"Don't tell James about the whole Adam thing. I'm not supposed to know why he hit him for."

Teddy left Al's room and headed for Lily's.

"Don't," a voice said from behind him. Ginny. He turned and looked at her. "She's locked her door," the red-head explained. "Leave her be."

Teddy smiled down at her. "You know how she feels right now, don't you?"

"It was awful to be the only one left in the Burrow while the others were all in Hogwarts," Ginny confirmed. "When Ron left, I kept creeping in his room in the night and slept in his bed."

Teddy laughed quietly at the image of a little Ginny sleeping in her brother's bed, heartbroken. She laughed, too. "Do you want to join me in the living room for a cup of coffee?"

He shook his head. "I'd love to, Ginny, but I have an important meeting."

"Oh." She chuckled.

"And what exactly does 'oh' mean?" Teddy demanded. Surely she had no way of knowing who he was going to meet?

"Nothing, Teddy Bear, nothing at all." She stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. "Oh, honey, when did you grow up? I swear, it was only yesterday, when you kept toddling after me all over the house and trying to steal my wand!"

To his horror, Teddy saw tears forming in her eyes. _Girls_, he thought.

"So, how is Al?" Ginny asked after a minute.

"Better."

"Of course he's better. Even James is better. You're a good influence on them, do you know that?"

Teddy gave her a one-armed hug and they headed for the front door. "They can be a real horror, but most of the time, when I look at them, I think that they are not too bad for little brothers."

He heard Ginny laughing against his shoulder. "You're a good option of a big brother, too, Teddy."

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**The next day...**

"You know, Rosie, he won't come here, so you can as well stop looking through this door," Al said, without bothering to look at her.

Rose blushed and averted her gaze. How could Al know that she was trying to see the blond boy from the platform, when he was not even looking at her to see what she was doing?

"What do you mean, 'he'?" she asked defiantly.

Al opened his book. "You know who I mean," he said. "The blond guy, Scipio or something – ah, yes, Scorpius. The one that Uncle Ron warned you about."

He did not need to look at his cousin to know that she was blushing – she always did when she felt embarrassed and being caught trying to find a guy she was warned not to associate with certainly was embarrassing enough. _It's all Uncle Ron's fault_, Al thought. _He should have known that warning Rosie about something means prompting Rosie to investigate it_. He knew his cousin so well and her never-ending curiosity was somehow comforting. And all his fears suddenly disappeared. Teddy was right – with or without people staring at him and seeing not him, but his father, Al would never be alone.

–––––––––––––––––––

**A few minutes later...**

Ron and Harry were talking in quiet voices. Ginny and Hermione looked both happy and sad that their children had left for the next few months. Lily was just sulking and Hugo was staring right in front of him. Trying not to cry at his playmate's leaving, Teddy supposed. He himself felt more depressed than he had previously thought. He'd become accustomed to being near Vickie every day and now, she would go to Hogwarts without him. It was not that he was disturbed that she would start noticing other guys, it was just – well, the other guys would start noticing _her_. Hell, they had already started! Teddy could remember at least five of his classmates who he had sent to Madame Pomfrey because of Victoire. No, she won't, he thought. She likes me and only me. She told me this.

He sighed. He did not like the thought of all of them leaving. He would miss Victoire. He would miss Al. Hell, he would even miss James, and that thought could be a symptom of a serious mental illness, for all Teddy knew.

He looked at the sad faces of two children in front of him and decided to make something that would be nice for them – and for him, too. "Hey, Aunt Ginny, Aunt Hermione? Can I borrow those two for today?"

Lily stopped sulking and gave him a curious look. She worshipped Teddy, had been worshipping him ever since she was born and he had started amusing her by changing faces. Hugo looked interested, too.

"Where are we going?" the little girl asked excitedly.

"I thought that I could bring you to the Muggle Zoo. To the monkeys, to be precise. To meet your fellows."

She stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed his arm.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

**A. N. Read? Obviously. Reviewed? Please!**


	6. Rose

_Disclaimer: Me? Just a poor fan. Not an owner._

**Thank you, my dear Everyone, for reading and reviewing, you are great!**

Chapter 6

_A few hours later…_

She was awake at 4.02 a.m, fully dressed at 6.15 and bouncing with nervousness at 7. 32. She listened carefully, but everyone in the house seemed to be sleeping. _How can they sleep in such a day_, the girl wondered. Don't they know what special day is today? Yet, everything seemed quiet. There was no sound coming from her parents' bedroom, nor was there any sign of someone awakening in her brother's room.

After a short contemplation, she changed into her new Hogwarts robes, checked her trunk for a fourth time and started combing her hair – a task that was never easy, because she had extraordinarily amount of curly hair, just like her mother, and since it had the red color of her father's hair, the result was a red flying mess for most of the day. Combing was always a torture, because each hair of her mane seemed to have its own opinion about where it should stay. Getting them in something that could at least vaguely resemble a decent form was always accompanied by tearing and muttering.

Finally, she was ready and at 8.09 she sat on the kitchen table, waiting for her family to _finally_ wake up. Since it seemed that no one cared whether she would catch the Hogwarts Express in time, she decided to have a refresher and started preparing her mother's favorite drink, then poured it in a cup, and brought it to her lips.

"Rose! What are you doing?"

Her mother had just caught her red-handed.

"If I told you once, I told you a million times, I don't want you drink coffee, you're too young – "

"Mum, I – " But Rose was not in the mood for arguing with her mother. She noticed, relieved, that Hermione was fully dressed in the nice green costume that Ron had presented her with a few months earlier. _Maybe I won't miss the train, after all._ "Is Dad still sleeping?" she asked.

"I'll go upstairs and wake him up in a few minutes," Hermione said and with a single wave of her wand made the ham start cutting itself, the eggs frying themselves, and the coffee making itself, while she was holding Rose's coffee with her other hand and sipping at it, scanning Rose's outfit – all that at the same time. It would never stop amazing Rose, how brilliant her mother was.

It would never stop terrifying her, either. Honestly, it seemed that good God had been feeling

quite generous, when he had created Hermione Jean Granger Weasley. She was too perfect in every aspect of her life, too gifted, too talented with everything – except for cooking, maybe. But even that was not due to the lack of talent – in fact, Hermione could cook just fine, it was just very hard to beat Grandma Molly's at cooking and feeding hungry kids. Rose was proud of her parents and she admired her mother for everything that she had accomplished – from fighting along with Dad and Uncle Harry, through being the most brilliant student Hogwarts had ever seen, to her brilliant career at the Ministry. All that while being the ideal wife, the perfect caring mother, the pride of Grandma and Grandpa Granger, the adored daughter in-law, the loved – and in Uncle George's case, a little feared, not that he would ever admit it – sister in-law, the greatest friend ever. And, if Daily Prophet and practically everybody Rose knew, were to be believed, the smartest witch ever born after Rowena Ravenclaw herself. Maybe even before that.

That was the reason for Rose's worries. She was long ago used to hearing various family members exclaiming how much like her mother she was, how she had inherited her mother's brains and so on. That had never bothered her, but now she was going to a place where everyone would look at her and expect that she would be as great as her parents and as brilliant as her mother. It was a hard task, being as brilliant as Hermione Weasley. And Rose would hate failing at it. She would hate disappointing her parents. She would hate disappointing herself and she would positively hate being looked at with pity by the others, as if she was a less talented and less formidable copy of the famous Hermione Granger. All in all, she would be all alone.

Suddenly, her leaving for Hogwarts, for which she had been looking forward so eagerly, did not look so appealing anymore. She had never been away from home. The journeys here and there did not count, because they were short and besides, she had been with her family then. Every place, where Mum, Dad and even the little scoundrel Hugo were, felt like home. Now she would be thrown in the outside world in exactly 147 minutes and that thought scared her to death.

"Nervous, dear?" Her mother was giving her a sympathetic look and Rose tried to shake the misery off.

"No, I'm okay. I can't wait to board the train," she lied.

Hermione could not be fooled so easily, though. She smiled gently and patted Rose's hand, while her other hand directed her wand at the eggs and them – on the four plated that flied out of the cupboard. "You will get used to it very quickly," she said.

"She will get used to what?" Ron asked, entering the kitchen. If he looked sleepy, that was because he had barely had any sleep last night – he and Hermione had started missing Rose already. Hugo, behind him, did not look much better.

"Hogwarts," Hermione explained to Ron, and he grinned.

"Of course Rosie will get used to Hogwarts very soon," Ron said confidently and collapsed on his chair. _I'll need to make his coffee stronger than usual, _Hermione thought_, or otherwise he will kill us all with the car._ A new wave of her wand remedied the problem.

"You'll probably meet your best friends while you are still on the train," Ron said, helping himself to some eggs and ham. "It usually happens this way. You'll meet the nicest people ever – "

"Or the most annoying prat ever, who will be dying to give you hard time on the train," Hermione said and Rose did not quite catch up why her father suddenly turned such a lovely shade of pink.

"Hey, those guys aren't always this bad!" he exclaimed indignantly and Hermione only smiled.

"Don't worry, Rose, I once knew such a guy," she said. "I was able to do with him, and so will be you."

"Really?" Rose's interested was aroused. "You managed to deal with a bully?"

"A bully!" Ron seemed ready to explode. Rose looked at Hugo, hoping that he might have some inkling about why their father overreacted in such way, but he only shrugged.

Paying no attention to her husband, Hermione looked at Rose. "What I mean is that you are perfectly capable of dealing with whatever nasty surprises meet you at Hogwarts – and believe me, there will be some of those – there's no need to look at me like that, Ron, you know it's true, - but I believe that you will beat them and win. You have it in you. Just don't give up on your studies, listen to your teachers – "

"Hermione, that's her first year. The first years should be allowed to have at least _some_ fun," Ron interjected and Hugo nodded vigorously behind his father's back. The two Weasley-Granger children were unanimous that having fun and their mother's idea of having fun were two completely different things. Sure, Rose loved books, but spending the whole day with one in her hand instead of going out for a Quidditch game or gnome-chasing, or playing with Grandpa's Muggle thingys? No, that was not for her. Then again, it was one of the reasons why her mother was the great Hermione Granger and she was just Rose. The copy.

"I completely agree," Hermione told Ron. "Just not the type of fun that you and Harry found amusing."

Ron looked affronted. "We did not find it _amusing_," he said, "it just found us attractive objects for carrying it out. And besides, Hermione, weren't you the one who enjoyed stealing some of Snape's supplies?"

"That's ridiculous!" But there was a smile on her lips that indicated that her husband was not too far from the truth.

"See?" Delighted, Ron took a solid sip of his coffee, choked on it and spilled it out on the shining white-cloth. "What the hell is that? Volcanic lava?"

"You'll need something strong, if you want to drive," Hermione said.

"Couldn't you ask me first?" Ron demanded, his greenish face slowly returning to its pale complexion and freckles.

"I didn't want to lose time. It _is_ our daughters special day, after all.'

"The women in this family," Ron muttered, adding a few sugar cubs in his coffee to make it drinkable. "I am fed up with them. Too clever for their own good, they are. And they love giving orders around."

Hugo laughed.

"But, Dad," Rose said seriously, "you know you adore the Weasley women and you wouldn't have traded him for any other woman in the world."

"You mean that there _are_ other women?" Ron sounded amazed. Rose burst out laughing.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

_Two hours later…_

"Yes, I am positive, I saw her right here – "

"Isn't she a bit young to start Hogwarts already? I remember reading in the newspapers about Hermione Weasley giving birth, but that was not so long ago."

"That would be the boy. He's younger."

" – standing next to Hermione Granger, the red-haired girl – "

"Yes, the Weasley red hair, her father just made a promotion – "

"Reading her books a year in advance, that Hermione Granger, I wonder – "

Rose wanted for the pavement to open up and swallow her. Everybody was looking at them, pointing at her parents and looking curiously at her. No doubt that they were talking between themselves about her – about Hermione Granger's daughter and whether she would be as talented as her mother. And then something hot started rising in her chest. It grew bigger and bigger and she finally recognized it for what it was: determination. They were talking about her? Well, she would give them something to talk about! No matter what happened from now on, she would not give up. She would read her books, she would play Quidditch, she would make excellent marks. She would show to everyone that Hermione Granger's daughter could outshine all others.

"I think it's them, Al," she suddenly heard a voice she recognized as Aunt Ginny's. Not even a minute later, the four of them appeared in the mist – Uncle Harry, Aunt Ginny, a sulking Lily and Al, who seemed immensely relieved to see Rose. She suddenly felt very stupid. How could she have been so afraid? She would show everyone that she was as good as her mother and she would never be alone – not with Al there, not with Victoire, not with a suspiciously missing right now James, not with Louis, Dominique, Lucy and Molly, and even Fred. Never.

"Hi," said Albus and she could not help but beam at him. All will be well.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

**A. N. And this, my dear readers, was Rose. Hard to write. Lots of efforts and I am still not sure about the final result, so I'll appreciate your comments. And by the way, do you want a Scorpius chapter or not?**


End file.
